I’m certainly not above enjoying the latest parody about the shutdown.

Like this one from Funny or Die, for example:

On the other hand, the shutdown’s side-effects aren’t really all that funny—from upsetting stories about deceased soldiers and their widows receiving improper treatment to the children affected through Head Start—our government shutdown is churning out some real problems that are certainly no laughing matter.

So, yeah, I might find temporary relief through Miley Cyrus’s SNL skit (and I think that’s perfectly alright), but it’s also time to start thinking about actions that can potentially bring relief that lasts longer than two minutes—like writing to Congress.

Check out this website, the Borgen Project. This organization is geared specifically to bringing attention to an issue you feel strongly about through effective correspondence, but these tips are also put to good use when (not if, when) you write your letter about the shutdown.

Here’s another site that shares tips for appropriate congressional communication (email correspondence is specifically addressed).

Still, like I stated earlier, I do enjoy a powerful joke—and this is the best one I’ve seen yet: Drunk Dial.

Yep, for real, “DrunkDialCongress.org is a website that launched Thursday morning, which puts you in contact with a random member of Congress so you can “Call & Yell.”

Their mission statement:

“Note: As Members of Congress quickly returned from their final symbolic, non-effective and otherwise useless votes to avert a government shutdown, the heavy drinking began. Reports of our representatives getting plastered on the government’s dime—the one we have left—have come streaming in from witnesses all over Capitol Hill. Now’s your chance to tell your Representative what you really think of their actions.”

CNBC’s Jane Wells tried it out.

“I tested it out. On the site I entered my phone number and received a recorded call from a man who sounded like he’d had a few too many. “I like to tell people whasss on my mind,” he slurred. Soon I could, too. Through that phone call I was randomly transferred to someone on Capitol Hill—Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind.

“Has anyone called you using DrunkDialCongress?” I asked. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” said the friendly receptionist after a pause.

I was their first known call from the website. While Rep. Rokita has been getting calls about the shutdown, “This site is news to me,” said the woman answering his phone (she did confirm my number was obscured). When asked if any drunk dialers had called at all, like, people who were really drunk, she replied, “No.”

Not yet at least.”

Drunk Dial also offers “Talking Points” like “Why don’t you make yourself useful and at least mow the lawn?” or “My grandma can’t get her cancer treatment.”

About Jennifer S. White

Jennifer is a voracious reader, obsessive writer, passionate yoga instructor and drinker of hoppy ales. She's also a devoted mama and wife (a stay-at-home yogi). She considers herself to be one of the funniest people that ever lived and she's also an identical twin. In addition to her work on elephant journal, Jennifer has over 40 articles published on the wellness website MindBodyGreen and her yoga-themed column Your Personal Yogi ran in the newspaper Toledo Free Press. She holds a Bachelor's degree in geology, absolutely no degrees in anything related to literature, and she currently owns a wheel of cheese. If you want to learn more about Jennifer then make sure to check out her writing, as she's finally put her tendencies to over-think and over-share to good use. Jennifer's first book, The Best Day of Your Life, is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and on her website.